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Arvest Bank is now hiring Contact Center representatives! Come learn about career opportunities with Arvest Bank during our career fair on Thursday, July 12, 2018, located at 4916 E 66th Street North, Tulsa, OK from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Good beginnings start here!

Arvest Bank is pleased to announce it will be the presenting sponsor for Friday Night Fireworks following the Tulsa Drillers game on Friday, May 18. The event will highlight and benefit Arvest’s 1 Million Meals initiative.

The 1 Million Meals initiative challenges bank associates, customers and community members to participate in fundraising efforts and nonperishable food drives to fight hunger in the more than 120 communities the bank serves. The initiative is needed, as Oklahoma ranks as the eighth-most food-insecure states in the nation, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

The fireworks show will start after Tulsa’s 7:05 p.m. game vs. the Arkansas Travelers. During the game, Arvest associates will man booths where fans can make 1 Million Meals donations and enjoy activities for kids.

Other promotions and events during the game include:

Fans will be able to register to win the use of the 20-seat party platform – including food and drinks – for one game at ONEOK Field, courtesy of Arvest and the Drillers. The winner will be announced during the game.

Arvest will make an on-field check presentation to The Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma.

Any customer who brings a can of food to donate to the 1 Million Meals initiative during the week of May 14-18 will receive $1 off the purchase of that game’s ticket price.

Arvest is conducting its annual initiative in the spring for the third consecutive year due to the fact food banks report an increased need for food items in the summer, when many children do not have the benefit of eating meals at the schools they attend. According to the Food Research and Action Center, for example, only one out of seven children who ate a free or reduced-priced school lunch during the 2015-2016 school year were reached by the Summer Nutrition Programs in July 2016. Donations to food banks also tend to be lower in the spring and summer than at other times of the year.

About Arvest

Arvest Bank, named by Forbes magazine as one of “America’s Best Large Employers” for 2017, operates more than 250 bank branches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas through a group of 15 locally managed banks, each with its own board and management team. These banks serve customers in more than 135 communities, with extended weekday banking hours at many locations. Arvest also provides a wide range of banking services including loans, deposits, treasury management, credit cards, mortgage loans and mortgage servicing. Arvest is an Equal Housing Lender and Member FDIC.

Beach Fosters Change Through Empowerment

“North Tulsa is an area of a lot of hurt, a lot of pain,” he said, ticking off a list of woes – poverty, unemployment, crime and illiteracy, among others – that long have plagued its residents.

Fortunately for those who live in north Tulsa, Beach is as passionate as he is candid. The founder of Tulsa YouthWorks, Beach moved to the area more than 15 years ago, and for the last 10 has poured his time and energy into creating a sea change. He has done so by working with the future of north Tulsa, its children.

“We really felt like, ‘These kids are very talented. Is there something we can do?’” Beach said. “Not just help them with food, not just help them with recreation and field trips, but is there a way we can actually empower them to help change their own community?"

Beach and those at Tulsa YouthWorks work with about 200 kids a year, using an after-school program and various camps to spend more than 200 days a year with them. The organization’s Pizza Factory teaches the children how to make pizzas and serve others.

The service piece is critical, Beach said. In addition to making one pizza they take home for their families, each child makes another pizza to give to homeless or other needy north Tulsa residents.

“The reason why we have them go out… If all we do is serve the kids and help them out with their lives, they'll be appreciative, but they're still in a victim mindset because of all the stuff that they've gone through in their life,” Beach said. “When we empower them to go out and serve others, it changes their whole mindset.”

Beach is the 29th person to be featured in Arvest Bank’s People Helping People video series. The series is designed to celebrate individuals in the communities Arvest serves who are uniquely making a difference. The idea came from the bank’s mission statement: “People helping people find financial solutions for life.”

There are other components to Tulsa YouthWorks, including kids who go from making and delivering pizzas to making presentations to churches, businesses and civic groups in an effort to sell more pizzas. Part of each sale goes into a college savings fund in the name of the child who sold the pizza.

Again, the idea is empowerment.

“A lot of the kids, they start out when they're in kindergarten,” Beach said. “If you can imagine, all these years of making pizzas and selling pizzas, we hope to have a good, substantial amount for them when they’re ready for college.

“We're looking for companies out there who want to match the children, match all the scholarship funds so that when they go, it's not even what they've sold, but even double that. Again, the number one reason we find why these children don't go to college, flat-out their parents don't have the money to send them, and so that means the children don't get equipped to live out their dreams.”

Even for the kids who may not go to college, Beach believes Tulsa YouthWorks provides them with a foundation for success by helping them academically and teaching them life skills.

“The biggest ways that we define success at YouthWorks is, ‘Do the kids come and do they always feel loved here?’” Beach said. “Do they feel accepted? Do they feel like somebody actually believes in them? Do they feel like somebody is going to be there for them no matter what? That's why we're here 204 days out of the year.”

The award-winning videos are available via Arvest’s social media channels – YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and the Arvest Blog – and the bank will make related posts each time a new story appears. Additionally, Arvest social media followers can help spread the word about these inspiring community members by sharing, liking and retweeting the videos. Beach’s video launched on March 2.

About Arvest Bank

Arvest Bank, named by Forbes magazine as one of “America’s Best Large Employers” for 2017, operates more than 250 bank branches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas through a group of 15 locally managed banks, each with its own board and management team. These banks serve customers in more than 120 communities, with extended weekday banking hours at many locations. Arvest also provides a wide range of banking services including loans, deposits, treasury management, credit cards, mortgage loans and mortgage servicing. Arvest is an Equal Housing Lender and Member FDIC.

Arvest Winterfest is happy to announce its return to Downtown Tulsa for its 10th year on Nov. 24! Winterfest welcomed more than 150,000 visitors in 2016. The seasonal celebration is open to the public for 45 days this year, giving everyone a chance to enjoy skating beneath Tulsa's skyline. Come lace up your skates and take in what has become one of Tulsa's favorite holiday traditions!

To celebrate this great tradition, we are giving away some great prizes. Now through Dec. 21, all you have to do is comment on the contest post on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ArvestBank*) with a photo of your child with his or her letter to Santa. Multiple winners will be randomly selected throughout the contest, and will be announced on our Facebook page as they are chosen. A Grand Prize winner will be selected on Dec. 21.

Arvest associates and their immediate family members are not eligible to win. Immediate family is defined as spouse, parent, child, sibling, or any other family member living in the associate’s home.

Oct. 27, 2017 – When Bobbie Jo Sparks was near her lowest, four words changed her life.

“Call Angie with BCAP,” Sparks remembers being told.

BCAP* is the acronym for Breast Cancer Assistance Program, a 501(c)(3) charity that assists women affected by breast cancer. Sparks is a breast cancer survivor who in 2012 was diagnosed with cancer, then lost her mother and her job within a span of about two months.

On top of that, Sparks had three children she feared wouldn’t get a Christmas due to all of the hardship. After taking the advice to call BCAP, however, Sparks got a much-needed boost.

BCAP, led by another breast cancer survivor, Angie Walters, paid the Sparks family’s rent and utilities. It even made sure the family had a Christmas dinner and gifts for Sparks’ children.

“Not only did they help my family,” Sparks said, “but they became family.”

Walters is the 24th person to be featured in Arvest Bank’s People Helping People video series. The series is designed to celebrate individuals in the communities Arvest serves who are uniquely making a difference.

Walters’ determination to help breast cancer patients started when she was receiving treatment for her own illness. She heard fellow patients worry about meeting basic financial needs, and eventually formed BCAP to help address that issue.

Now, BCAP provides an average of about $1,500 to several cancer patients each month. The money comes from fundraisers such as the Pink Carpet Survivor Brunch and Fashion Show held earlier this fall.

Sparks, who now holds a fundraiser of her own to help support BCAP, knows firsthand how the organization helps those with seemingly overwhelming financial needs. After participating in the fashion show, Sparks knows about other benefits being associated with the group brings.

“I felt beautiful,” Sparks said. “I felt beautiful in my skin because all of those people allowed me to feel that way. Once I made my round and everybody is applauding and they know my story, it was amazing. ...You felt amazing. You felt like you were 10 feet tall.”

About Arvest Bank

Arvest Bank operates more than 250 bank branches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas through a group of 16 locally managed banks, each with its own board and management team. These banks serve customers in more than 120 communities, with extended weekday banking hours at many locations. Arvest also provides a wide range of banking services including loans, deposits, treasury management, credit cards, mortgage loans and mortgage servicing. Arvest is an Equal Housing Lender and Member FDIC.

Links marked with * go to a third-party site not operated or endorsed by Arvest Bank, an FDIC-insured institution.

Investment products and services are provided by Arvest Investments, Inc., doing business as Arvest Asset Management, member FINRA/SIPC, an SEC registered investment adviser and a subsidiary of Arvest Bank. Trust services are provided by Arvest Bank. Insurance products are made available through Arvest Insurance, Inc., which is registered as an insurance agency. Insurance products are marketed through Arvest Insurance, Inc., but are underwritten by insurance companies.
Securities and Insurance Products: Not Insured by FDIC or any Federal Government Agency, May Lose Value, Not a Deposit of or Guaranteed by a Bank or any Bank Affiliate.